Cross My Heart
by northstar333
Summary: She will always love him. He has grown to love her. Their love spans ages, immortality, and death. Regardless of the cost, they will stay true to the promise of their love. Collection of romantic S/R oneshots and drabbles. G-PG13
1. Keeper of a Scarred Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters of the series. But if I did...mwahaha.

Rated PG13 for mention of rape and blood.

Rin: 1st person

Keeper of a Scarred Heart

I looked down upon the happy village, watching a mother play with her infant daughter.

Petal soft curls of the darkest twilight, skin still red from her birth, hands so delicate, yet complete down to the last little fingernail. Unbidden, a soft smile lighted on my lips as I watched the infant grasp her mother's pinkie.

In the field a sister chases her brother with a hoe, screaming at him for ruining her favorite ribbon. An unwatched toddler is discovering the secret taste of mud pies in the ditch. Along the road, a man with a laden horse has stopped to talk to a farmer. The farmer's hearty laugher carries through the valley and to my ears at my hiding place upon the hill. It reminds me of my father's laugh, but as the memory surfaces, it is already fleeing my grasping mind.

Further on, beyond the daily chaos of human living, a young man and a young woman are meeting behind a shed. I can tell she loves him by the look in her eyes, by the way she sighs out his name. He touches her tenderly, protectively, urging her to accept his suit. For some reason she hesitates, she looks away, she replies with doubt and fears. He gives her a gentle shake, his voice rising in anger, his face flushing with his ardor. She whimpers and dissolves into tears, and instantly he is cradling her to him, offering the strong wall of his body for her to lean on.

For a moment, I wondered, what would it be like to be loved? To be held and comforted? To reach out and touch, and be touched in return? What would it be like, to not be despised for what I am? To be accepted, because I am the same kind?

I shook my head ruefully. I wasn't the same kind. I had been raised by youkai, and that stamp would forever define me.

I watched as the young man rubbed the girl's back soothingly, watched as he whispered gentle words in her ear, and found tears running down my face. Oh how I missed the affectionate touch of a friend, a family member, a kind stranger! There had been desperate times indeed, when Aun's desire to be petted, was the only thing that kept me sane. My lord Sesshoumaru loathed any display of weakness of any kind, which included drying tears, hugging, patting, smiling, kissing, and all the other gesture that a desolate child might take comfort in. He fed me, he clothed me, he looked after me apathetically. Had it not been for my tendency to attract trouble, I would know not at all that I had breached the walls of his heart.

My life mattered to him. My presence was something that he did not want to do without. He could never admit to caring for me, but it was there just the same. Why else would a taiyoukai wear a flower tucked into his armor? Why else would his amber eyes return to my face, time after time, to take in the smile that waited for him there?

My gaze strayed to the couple as I watched them kiss passionately. Still, just to be touched like that, just once... To be regarded as something worthy, something beautiful and feminine. Not smell, dirty, weak, or _human._

I sat up abruptly, realizing where my thoughts were taking me. Why was I in such a melancholy mood today?

In a fit of pique I plucked one of the daisies beside me. I looked at the lovers entangled with each other, to far gone with each other to realize they were being watched. The old litany, a child's game really, trickled through my head.

_He loves me (pull a petal)_

_He loves me not (pluck a petal)_

_He loves me (another petal)_

_He loves me not (another petal)_

_He loves me (another petal)_

_He loves me not (another petal)_

_He loves me..._

I let the last petal fall from my hands. And what if he did, indeed, love me? He would never build me a little house. He would never come home to my cooking. He would never call me wife. Never say tender words of needing and longing. Never celebrate the birth of our first child and help me pick out names. He would never see fit to mingle _his_ royal bloodline with my human one. Especially if hanyous like Inuyasha were the result.

A shutter shot up my spine and I turned my eyes from lovers, repulsed by their displays of overt passion. My mother had been raped by one of the bandits in front of my brother and I. It was the one clear memory of her I had left. That and the rich red texture of her blood under my fingers.

I threw away the naked stem, silencing my old fears with long practiced ease. Sesshoumaru-sama was nearby. He would never let anything happen to me. Ever.

I stood up and dusted myself off. I gave the village one last look, my gaze lingering on the mother and her child. How soft were the baby's cheeks really? Did she smell sweet? Like milk? Or maybe she really cried all day and always stank? I didn't deny the fact that I wanted to know.

Beside me, as silent as a ghost, Sesshoumaru-sama appeared. Cool and reliable, constant as the sunrise, that was my lord.

"Will you go down to the village?" he asked quietly.

I wavered for a second, for only that tiny moment in time I sought to grasp the human life I had forsaken.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" I asked hesitantly.

"What?" he answered.

"Why did you take me in?" I asked.

His amber eyes grew distant and cloudy. His stance didn't change, except for the every so slight shifting of his weight. At last his words fell into the silence like a stone dropped into a still pond.

"Because you needed me," he said with no inflection. He turned and melted back into the forest, leaving me to make my own decision.

_Because you needed me._

His words. Because I had needed him.

I looked down on the ardent lovers, the happy siblings, the young mother and her babe and smiled, no longer wavering in my choice. Like a forest sprite I chased after my solemn master.

I could go down to the village, meet a nice boy, raise a family, and die surrounded by the life I had built. Or I could turn my back on all that and nurture the so fragile, visibly scarred heart in my hands. It would be a long life spent for no gratitude. Yet, that life had its own rewards, ones that I knew well. I picked up my pace, trotting behind the stoic figure of my lord.

My choice was made. In the end, there had never been any choice but this for me. Why would I follow Sesshoumaru-sama for the rest of my days?

_Because he needed me._

fin


	2. Contemplation

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N Sess's thoughts on Rin

# Contemplation #

He never asked for her attention. He never asked for her touch. Yet, she knew that he needed them. She knew to persist, to never give up on him. She knew, as he came to understand, that he needed her.

With soulful, grave dark eyes, she places her hand on his empty sleeve and he lets her. By touch and by taste she is intimately familiar with the stump there. He has no more mysteries hidden from her. One by one, he has entrusted them to her care. Even the ones that hurt; the ones that fill him with shame.

So many times he turned her away before he let her she show him she could love him exactly as he was—a cripple; less than perfect.

She has suffered because he is a demon.

She loves him anyways.

It is in her gentle touch, in the whisper of her lips across his brow. It is in the rocking sway of her hips as she straddles him and the flushed joy of her face as she rides him to completion. It is in the quirk of her smile and the secret, feminine light in her teasing eyes.

It is in the wealth of her tears.

It has been paid for again and again in the blood she has shed.

She has fought for the right to stay by his side. She has the won the right to bear his children. She has gifted him with lovely daughters and strong sons. She has given everything and surrendered herself into his care.

He will never again deny her the place she has in his heart.


	3. Firefly

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

# Firefly #

Rin danced around him, confounding and bemusing him greatly.

How could she have _so much_ energy?! She reminded him of a summer firefly; beautiful, vivacious, and lively.

In an unguarded moment she leapt, encircling her arms around his neck. With a quick peck of her soft lips against his, she was off again, giggling madly.

He scowled darkly, unable to prevent himself from touching his mouth where hers had rested so briefly.

"Rin," he scolded. "Do not do that again."

She did it anyways and he let her, because autumn would take his summer firefly from him all too quickly.


	4. She Is

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warning: Character death

A/N Sess's thoughts on Rin

# She Is #

In this moment she is timeless, an angel without wings.

She is a lopsided smile beaming out of a battered face. She is the sweet, silly song that hastens his return. She is the swirling dance of petals that hides that first, forbidden kiss. She is the touch and taste of warmth in the darkness. She is the baby's first cry on a cold foggy morning. She is the laughing dark eyes of their daughter. She is the first strands of silver that frost in her hair. She is the delicate strength that weathers life by his side.

She is the tears that streak down his cheeks. She is the name he cries out in vain.

She is the bright spirit he cannot keep.

She is the love he cannot deny.

In the next moment, she is gone.


	5. It's In Her Kiss

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

# It's In Her Kiss #

He slides his fingers into her hair, the dark thickness like silk and rain against his skin. Her breath mingles with his as he presses their foreheads together. Silver strands fall softly around them like a curtain of moonlight, blocking out the world. Demon eyes the burning color of dawn peer deep into dark eyes the turbulent color of stormy seas and he sees the truth of her feelings mirrored there.

"_I love you,"_ his lips form the words against hers in a whispered caress.

Her tears anoint his tongue as he surrenders himself, body and soul, to her kiss.


	6. Full Circle

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Full Circle

"Are you sure?" he asked her quietly, his tone neither approving nor disapproving.

She knew, instinctively, that the decision rested completely in her hands. He would not command or coax her; he would not condemn or chastise her. He waited; this magnificent being of incredible power, for her to grant him this.

She smiled, her face a picture of unfettered beauty, her eyes alight with trust and passion. Her gaze locked onto him, as if he was the only thing she could see, and she saw reflected back in his eyes the very same absorption and intensity.

She did not press him for gentle words; she did not demand assurances from him. She didn't need to.

This, within the circle of her arms, was her heart's desire.

Through pain and desperation, through cold silences and her tears, the choice of her heart had never wavered. _This_ one; her lord Sesshoumaru, was her life and her breath. He was everything she'd ever need.

And now, in the circle of _his_ arms, she was resplendent and radiant with the glory of his loving. There was no scar left he hadn't kissed, no hidden part of her left he hadn't tasted, no inch of skin he hadn't touched.

She was his.

He was hers.

"Yes," she replied with all the love in her heart.


	7. Smores

Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

# Smores #

Sesshoumaru watched with intent golden eyes across the fire as Rin opened her mouth wide and popped another smore into her mouth whole. With happy contentment glowing on her face in the firelight, she smacked her way through the large gooey mess until she swallowed the last bit. Raising her fingers to her sugary, sticky lips, she attempted to lick the pale remains of marshmallow from them.

He decided abruptly that enough was enough. With expert grace he waded through the plethora of half finished packages of chocolate, marshmallows, and gram crackers and caught her wrist in his long, clawed fingers. He ignored her expression of surprise as he dipped his head and sucked her fingers into his mouth. Holding her wrist captive lest she get away, he used the mobile agility of his longer tongue to reach every last little bit of sweet stickiness that clung to her skin.

Seating himself beside her without ceasing his ministrations, he reached out and found her other hand as he finished the first. Only after he had licked each clean did he pin her with a hungry, speculative stare. Catching hold of her chin between finger and thumb, he turned her face towards the fire.

"You have it here too," he murmured as he leaned in, caressing her face with long lingering sweeps of his tongue as he removed the bits of sugar that had stuck to her.

He paused at the corner of her mouth, toying with the little hollow before sliding the tip along her plump lower lip in search of more.

Stunned by the peculiarity of his actions, Rin recovered enough of her wits that when his tongue teased the delicate curve of her upper lip, she turned her face to his and kissed him in earnest. Their kiss tasted of the sinful dark richness of chocolate, the sugary airy sweetness of marshmallow, the crumbling cookie crunch of gram crackers.

"Mmm," she purred approvingly as he leaned back and eyed her with satisfaction. Blushing under his gaze, she busied herself with sticking another marshmallow on her roasting stick.

"I'm having another," she chattered, filling the silence between them, "Would you like one?"

His gold eyes shifted to eye the extra marshmallow in her hand, and she quickly placed it beside her own on the stick before he could snatch it from her fingers.

"No eating the marshmallows first! You're supposed to eat them with the cracker and chocolate!" she admonished him as she busied herself positioning the stick over a likely tongue of flame. From the corner of her eye, she caught a blurred motion as one of her bits of chocolate disappeared off of its foil wrapper. She gave a long slow blink, almost missing the theft of a cracker and a marshmallow in the process. She glared at him as he gave a guilty crunch, refusing to meet her eyes as he acted nonchalant.

"I saw that!" she scolded as she scooted the rest of her little hoard out of his reach. "No more for you! You have to wait until your smore is done!"

Not bothering to hide it any more, he finished chewing his stolen bites and waited impatiently for her to let him have more. He was such a picture of unrepentant, expectant eagerness despite his attempt to appear stoic that she could not help but laugh.

"You have a sweet tooth, don't you?" she exclaimed as she turned the stick to brown the marshmallows all the way around. "Don't worry then, I'll have your smore ready in no time!"

With her back turned to him, she hurriedly fixed the two smores. She turned back, only to be startled into almost dropping the smore in her hands as his nearness surprised her. Apparently, he had leaned in to peer over her shoulder and the suddenness of her own movements had startled him as well. It was a testament to his quick instincts as he caught his prize in the cradle of his outstretched hands on reflex. Applauding his good catch, she watched with disbelief as the entire smore vanished in two gulps and he fussily licked his fingers clean.

"More?" she asked wryly, not missing the way he was eyeing her own smore with unconcealed hunger. Without further comment she handed it over, expecting him to snarf it down too.

Instead, with delicate precision, he sliced it in two, downing the bigger half as he offered her a tiny chunk balanced on the tip of his finger. With her eyes never leaving his face, she leaned over and sucked the bit off his finger, chewing the bite delicately before swallowing. Again he repeated the process, offering her another chunk as he watched her with a kind of heated hunger that had nothing to do with food. Her tongue lingered long enough to pick up the crumbs that lingered on his fingertip as she took the bit the second time. Slow and teasingly, he fed her the half of the smore left, until all that remained was the bite left on his palm. Bending over to snatch up the chunk, Rin held it enticingly between her lips as her eyes invited him to come share it with her.

Unable to resist, he leaned in and sealed his lips over hers, seizing the piece between his molars as he leisurely licked the inside of her mouth clean. She made a noise of protest when he quickly crushed and swallowed the last pieces, but as the taste of chocolate and gram cracker and marshmallow lingered to sweeten their kiss, she forgave him.

Her mirth escaped in a choked giggle as she watched him eye the sugar behind her with blatant longing. Without being asked, she set about making more and was careful to put as many marshmallows as would fit on the stick. Setting him up with a generous five to her one, she was able to finish her treat relatively unmolested until he went after her fingers again. The kiss that followed quickly silenced any protest she might have made, and it was with playful delight that they finished out the rest of her smores stash.


	8. Midnight Moon

Title: Midnight Moon  
Rating: G  
Characters: Sesshoumaru and Rin  
Setting: AU reincarnation ficclet

This is a belated New Years Eve fic. I had no intention of writing such a thing but Tomoe's New Years S/R AU pic caught my fancy and I decided to add some words to it.

# Midnight Moon #

She is drawn, that night of all nights, out into the cold crisp darkness. She passes by the cheerful couples and the toasting friends without a sidelong glance. Her parents are asleep in their bed like good working adults, the thought that their wayward daughter might not be in hers far from their peaceful dreams.

There is no one to miss her, and she feels weightless, transient because of it. Her feet lead her up into the mountains, faithfully through the labyrinth of trails she has explored since she was very young. She knows intuitively where she is going, but she pretends as if the snow shrouded trees around her are brand new. With caution and adventurous curiosity, she goes forward to see where the path under her feet will take her.

She comes to the peak of her favorite mountain, the top a sheer cliff face topped by an outcropping of rock that appeals to her. The shape is something that tickles her fancy, like a great dragon springing into the sky, or a gigantic turtle looking forth from its huge shell.

Tonight, with its pale, ethereal blanket of snow and long, wicked looking icicles, it reminds her of a great white dog, sitting alone with its gaze towards yonder crescent moon.

Something more than just errant imagination fixes the image in her mind as a painful, almost wistful nostalgia tightens in her chest. The silhouette against the starry night sky makes her head ache and her eyes water until she is forced to look away. No sound has alerted her to his presence, but she looks directly at him just the same.

Ancient, alien gold eyes shine eerily in the midnight moon, and for a moment she has trouble making out his form in the shadows. The illogical, frightening yet exhilarating possibility that her great dog has come to life grips her mind as she freezes with instinctive fear. For one of the rare moments in her life, she is still and quiet as the creature—he—takes a calculated, cautious step forward.

Such is his demeanor that she lets herself believe that this moment is as surreal for him as it is for her. His demonic eyes roam her form with a kind of disbelieving yet overly intensive assessment that calms her with its familiar feel. She relaxes enough to find her voice, to find her lips shaping the syllables of a name she has not spoken in this lifetime.

"S…sess…shou…maru…"

The word slips out of her mouth and disrupts the serenity of the night. She sees him visibly start as his gold eyes narrow with suspicion and interest. His posture changes from one of wary intrusion to assured aggression.

"Rin," his voice calls out, deep and resonant and demanding.

She jerks, rudely taken aback by the difference in names. Her name is Aoi, like the blue summer sky her mother named her after. Yet beneath her confusion pulses a different kind of recognition, a blind and primitive response to the sound of his voice that cannot be denied.

"_Rin,"_ he says again with imperial insistence, the moonlight falling onto his regal, coldly handsome face in time for her to see the deepening of his stern frown.

Without conscious thought, her chin lifts stubbornly and she replies with far more bold audacity than she thought she had in her.

"Aoi is not _Rin,_ Sesshoumaru-sama," she says determinedly. "Aoi is Aoi."

"A…oi," he pronounces her name, as if struggling to comprehend the difference.

She falls awkwardly silent; belatedly realizing that she is chastising what must be one of the ancient youkai of lore. He can be no other, for the sheer subconscious awareness he provokes within her speaks of great age and power. Fairytales of helpless maidens being bewitched by the unearthly beauty of youkai, never to be found again, dance through her head like snowflakes as she endures his penetrating regard in mute terror. A part of her wants nothing more than to flee, to turn tail and run as if it will do her any good. Yet another part of her wishes to stay, to stare in confounded wonder at this mythical creature. A third part of her—that which surely is justifiably crazy—wishes to approach him and slip her small hand trustingly into his large one.

"You are Rin," he decides with unarguable authority.

His shoulders droop slightly as if a great weight has been lifted from them. His head half turns as he hides his expression, and for the first time she notices his hair. Her body moves and her hand lifts and her actions catch him so off guard that neither of them prevent her from softly threading her fingers through the silken silver strands.

"You cut it," she cries with sincere sorrow, so caught up in the moment of equal parts recognition and regret that she forgets to be self conscious. "You cut your beautiful hair," she continues in a quieter voice as awareness catches up with her.

A bright, mortified blush steals across her face, but before she can stumble backwards out of his personal space, she is caught and held fast by the haunted vulnerability in his gold gaze. The painful, wistful, lonely feeling in her heart squeezes until she is breathless from it. Her fingertips trail down, tracing the strong line of his jaw as she stares at him with concentration and wonder.

"You're…real," she stammers. "Sesshoumaru-sama…"

She drowns slowly inside as layers upon layers of memories wash over her, shifting and settling inside of her until her mind and soul feel old and tired. Clinging to the unspoken need she sees in his eyes, she endures as her self awareness expands and stabilizes to take it all in. She remembers to breathe, remembers to blink, remembers his face as everything vital to her clicks back into place.

"Rin…remembers," she croaks as unshed tears thicken in her throat. "Rin promised…"

"Yes," is all he says as he gathers her close and the scent of his body surrounds her more sweetly than the scent of her mother ever did.

"I waited for you," he whispers into her hair. "I will always wait for you."

In a quiet household where the last seconds of an old year slip away unseen, a small forgotten digital alarm clock flips over to twelve am and a new year begins.


	9. His Foolishness

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Week/Prompt:** Week 2 – Forever

**Word Count: **400

**Rating:** PG13 for a bad word

**Summary:** He's just a fool in love...

**Warnings/Author's Note:** written for mfsanctuary on LJ.

His Foolishness

_To be human is to be foolish. To try to be human is only to succeed at being a fool. _

…The words of his mother, her only admittance of ire against his father's dalliances with a human whore.

_Do not scoff at love my son. It has brought low colder hearts than yours. You know nothing, and so you despise me without understanding. Someday you will meet the one who makes you feel foolish, and then you will understand why I make no apology to you or your mother. Love is its own law. Remember that._

…The words of his father, the last ever spoken to his son.

_Someday, after I die, will you remember me?_

…The words of Rin, the little girl who would make of him a fool.

He knows he should use his claws to strike her dead. Yet he cannot, and each day she lives is another day he fails to put an end to his foolishness. Each day he protects her is another step towards his own destruction.

His mighty father died professing love for a human; he knows better than to expect that he will escape unscathed. If he were wise, he would throw her away and never look back. If he pursued his quest for power as adamantly as he protected her life, perhaps he would possess the strength to answer the question he sees in his mother's eyes.

_Have you become like your father?_

He doesn't know. He fears; and his fear almost drive him to do what needs done.

Almost.

And yet…

He does not give up his weakness, the taint of her humanity. He sees her smile, hears her laughter, touches her tears, and he seeks to understand. What she is and why she feels and who she might become.

Forever is the furthest thing from his mind as he watches her grow up under his very eyes. Forever holds no sway over his actions as he takes her for his own, regardless of the consequences. Forever is the curse on his lips as he regrets never having told her of his love.

The bitterness of understanding his father's words, of knowing he has become the fool his mother spoke of, is a mere echo to the loss of his love.

Rin.

He will love her forever, and make no apology for his foolishness, because love is its own law.


	10. Autumn Kiss

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Week/Prompt:** Week 4/Opportunity Breeds Desire  
**Word Count:** 417  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** He knows she will be his...  
**Warnings/Author's Note:** Non platonic, obviously. Written for mfsanctuary on LJ.

# Autumn Kiss #

The swirl of autumn leaves falls in a flame bright shower of crimson maple and gold ginkgo, flitting about her like a swarm of startled butterflies. The cool caress of the zephyrs vies jealously with the warm kiss of the sun on her exposed skin. The misty spray from the waterfall clings to her dark tresses so that the black ebony of it sparkles like midnight skies and snowfall. Rare blossoms nestle in the woven braids of her hair like tiny birds. In the late afternoon's golden haze, her eyes are large and vivid; a rich darkness flecked with pale amber.

He watches her from the shadows, watches the way nature itself seems to take notice of her presence. He watches her dance, watches her skip and play and frolic without fear or self consciousness. Cool and collected, he bides his time, allowing her the last joys of the season just as winter allows autumn the last bright swirl of her colors. He is untouched by the vibrancy around him, an outsider who takes no part of the celebration of a rich harvest. He has no appreciation of the leaves that shed their purpose for one brief, colorful cavort with the wind before a quiet forgotten death.

Like dark winter storms and the creeping fingers of frost, he is here merely as a herald of what is to come. His eyes, as they watch her, are clear and crystalline; hard amber under ice, intent with a desire to capture and possess. He knows that he holds her future within his wicked, clawed hands, and so he does not begrudge her the present.

She swirls within reach.

His arms close about her waist without mercy, his touch as unforgiving as frost. With gentle inevitability his mouth descends on hers as he gives her a mere taste of what he wants. His lips are demandingly cruel as he takes her first kiss with brutal efficiency, making her yield under the press and tease of his tongue. No sooner than the moment she surrenders without a struggle does he release her, content to let her dance once more out of reach.

The delicate flush to her cheekbones and the bright crimson of her mouth have nothing to do with her exertion and everything to do with him. Amid the turbulent beauty of autumn, she shines and he is content to let her, knowing she cannot escape him.

He is a patient hunter; and she is the most worthy of prey.


	11. Daughter

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Week/Prompt:** Week 5 / Baby Steps

**Word Count: **150

**Rating:** G

**Summary:** His little girl...

**Warnings/Author's Note:** Not platonic S/R! I did the cliche thing and wrote a "baby" drabble. Awww its so cute...  
Written for mfsanctuary on LJ

# Daughter #

She is every mother's dream.

Small, beautiful, perfect. A quiet child who listens to the tones of her father's voice with large, unblinking eyes. Whose burbles melt her grandmother's frosty youkai heart. A mobile hazard that dismays Jaken with her tendency to eat everything in sight.

Rin cherishes her daughter, knowing that she has touched her father's heart in ways Rin herself cannot. She is pleased with the knowledge that her child will not bear the yoke of being Sesshoumaru's heir; that because of her little hanyou's gender, her father can bring himself to be gentle and satisfied with her half blood strength.

There is none of the competition between father and son. Instead, her little girl has succeeded where Rin has not; melting her father's fierce prejudices and cold reservations—step by baby step.

Rin is not surprised. After all, Sesshoumaru has always had a weakness for little girls.


	12. Poison

She tells him she loves him and he laughs in her face

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

# Poison #

She tells him she loves him and he laughs in her face.

_You cannot love me,_ he tells her. She doesn't comprehend that he means it in a literal sense until she steals a bit of his breath.

And feels the acid burn in her lungs like fire.

_Then_ she understands that his natural poison permeates his very flesh, making it impossible for her to be with him. That mere wisp of air should have killed her, eaten her from the inside out for her audacity.

But it doesn't.

If she were cautious by nature, she would give up. But she has never played it safe, preferring to push her body to its limits instead.

Her experiment amuses him and so he indulges her as she teases him with kisses. Only her fierce determination sees her through the worst of the poisoning as she builds up her immunity.

Again and again she returns to him, pleading when he might otherwise deny her for her own good. Surely the next time will be her last, yet she succeeds beyond even her own ludicrous expectations.

Finally she invites him to take her in the most intimate of embraces. It is beautiful, everything she ever dreamed of.

_I love you,_ she tells him.

_Yes,_ he agrees, holding her close as she dies in his arms.

#


	13. Do You Believe

He is in the library that day to meet a friend

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warning: PG13 for mild sexual situation

Setting is AU.

# Do You Believe #

He is in the library that day to meet a friend. Her uniform is like so many others, yet he notices her because beneath the white of her shirt she is neither wearing a bra nor a camisole.

_Unrefined._

He labels her in a moment of passing observation and moves on.

He is there a different day, and again there she is with the darkness of her nipples almost showing through the thin material of her shirt. Today she is reading one of the books he has written on Japanese history.

His friend is late. He has time to kill. He strikes up a conversation. Her skepticism is obvious until she compares him to his picture on the back flap. Then her face lights up as she asks him question after question, her interest genuine and her intelligence sharp.

"There is something I've wanted to ask you," she says at last, her head tilted inquisitively. "Do you believe history repeats itself?"

He reaches outs, leisurely circles one of her nipples with an elegant finger, and smiles intimately down at her. Her half smile is hesitant, her dark eyes uneasy, but she makes no outcry.

"Yes," he answers. "I do, Rin."

#


	14. A Worthwhile Gamble

It was a game of chance, with the highest stakes of all

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Rating:** G

# A Worthwhile Gamble #

She was a child when he left and a woman when he returned.

Gone was the naïve audacity of her childhood. Gone was the selfless worship she'd always given him. Gone was the effortless way in which she could assume a position by his side and consider it rightfully hers.

She yearned desperately for those carefree times. She had been content with so little because she took for granted everything she questioned as an adult.

_Why?_

_Why_ did he resurrect her? _Why_ did he let her follow him? _Why_ did he always protect her?

_Why..._did he leave her behind?

She wasn't sure anymore. She used to _know_. She never needed affirmation to trust, to believe. She never doubted in _forever's_ promise.

He had come for her answer.

In her youth she had found his eternal nature comforting. As a woman she wished she could see even the slightest change in him, a change that _she_ had wrought. Something she could place her trust in; something that would ease her fears.

Yet in the end it didn't matter.

In the village she had a secure home, familiar faces, and a purpose. She was _needed._ It would have been enough except...

He was vital to her happiness.

She was willing to throw it all away to follow him. She knew the chances of earning his love were slim, yet she would gamble that her love would reach him in her short life span.

And she would play to win, whatever the cost.

#


	15. Of Youkai and Humans

Never love a monster…

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** more a phrasing of thought than an actual story

# Of Youkai and Humans #

_Never love a monster…_

_She could never love…_

_Him._

In the gripping darkness of shadow, blood has no color. Only thickness, only blackness as it weakly reflects what light there is with an oily, wet sheen. In the night's shifting dance of savagery, only the foolish move without fear. The tiniest mouse knows to freeze under the menace of a predator's presence. Animal, spirit, youkai alike _know_ such things with basic, primal survival instincts.

She does not.

Hunger is never the innocent rumble of an empty stomach for his kind. _Hunger___is something that gnaws and bites and ravages the insides until its demands are met. He is not driven by something as soft as _emotion._ Anger, rage, fury they are nothing compared to the obsessive, spiraling, far reaching _madness_ of a youkai's grudge.

_He…_

_Hates humans._

_All of them._

_She…_

_He does not hate her._

Humans are filthy and short lived. A race blessed by its very blindness as the atrocities of one generation are forgotten in the smoke and flames of the next. There are many of them; more than there are stars he can name in the sky. No matter how many he kills, there will always be more. _Always._

He had only one father.

And he died.

For a human whore.

And left behind…

A squalling half breed brat.

His…brother.

It is not vengeance. It is not revenge or greed. It is not justice or punishment. It is the jagged pieces inside him left after everything he believed in shattered. It is the razor sharp illusion of happiness that slices him raw every time he dares reach for it. It is the lonesome, forlorn,_ forsaken_ task of defending his father's, his—_their_ honor after his father willfully destroyed it all for a human.

_The fang Tessaiga…_

_He would have filled the night with the darkness of blood until…_

_Not a whisper of dishonor remained._

_For the father he loved._

He is the cast off son with the cast off sword. He is the cast off defender of a cast off legacy. He is the cast off product of a cast off family. Humanity inherited the riches of his father's favor and ground them into dust. Men shared in the spoils of his father's power and spit on him in disgust when he dared to touch one of their women. Izayoi's lord took advantage of his father's benevolence and then killed Izayoi, her son, and her lover for daring to bring a hanyou into the world.

Yet his father…

Loved humans more than he loved his own flesh and blood.

She is a cast off child who does not even belong to herself. She is the forgotten and the forsaken, the lonely one left alone. And so she dies unlamented until he takes her as his. He hates what she is. He hates having her near him. He hates how weak she is. He hates the pitiful noises she makes when she cries in fear. He hates the way she smells and the mess she makes. Yet he keeps her because he does not hate _her._

_Monsters do not love._

_They eat and devour and destroy…_

_Just as they are eaten and devoured and destroyed._

She is his own destruction; the ending to what his father once begun. She is the choice he makes that puts his feet upon the path to oblivion. She is the weakness that will leave him vulnerable in the moment the death blow falls. He sees all this and does nothing.

Because he does not care.

The madness of a youkai's grudge is a pale weedy blossom compared to the rich, multi layered rose of a youkai's eternal devotion. He lives with all his being. He breathes with all his being. He hunts and kills and feeds with all his being. He hates with all his being and…he loves with all his being.

_He is Youkai._

And she does not know any better than not to love him in return. Even if it means _her_ destruction as well because…

_She is Human._

#


End file.
